I'm looking to start - finally, getting into photography again. I used to have a Pentax 1000 years ago that I used for B&W pics. Now, I want to get into both outdoor photography and astrophotography and am looking for input as to which DSLR(s) would be best for a beginner/intermediate use.

As to budget. I suppose around $500 would be what I'm prepared o spend initially.

What type of astrophotography are you thinking of? ie - coupling the camera to a telescope, star trails over landscape, or just fitting a long lens?
–
Digital LightcraftJul 25 '12 at 7:19

Coupling to the telescope. I want to use the same camera for other photography as well. My budget of $500 is looking more like I will need to go with an entry level camera.
–
TriciaJul 29 '12 at 1:37

I don't know if you are an experienced astronomer yet but your mount is likely to be more important than your sensor yet. Apologies if you already know this. Head over to cloudynights.com...
–
Paul CezanneDec 12 '14 at 23:37

3 Answers
3

You should mention budget. The Pentax K-5, for example, is a weather-sealed camera that, when coupled with weather-sealed lenses, is great for outdoor photography. Add in the Pentax GPS unit that enables astrotracing (using the anti-shake feature of the camera) to match the Earth's rotation for astrophotogtaphy and you have pretty solid answer to your question. However, the K-5 is a semi-pro and more expensive than the entry-level options.

@mattdm - I don't have any experience with them, so the only thing to confirm is that the long exposure noise reduction could be disabled with them otherwise not a good astrophotography option.
–
John Cavan♦Jul 25 '12 at 10:39

The Canon 60Da is specifically made for astrophotography (has an infra-red filter leaving the camera more sensitive to a specific emission frequency (656nm) of hydrogen, key to capturing images of features such as nebulae (gas clouds) in space), but is about triple the price of your budget ($1499.00/£1174.99).

Breaking news: I don't have the link, but I read about the 7D mk ii, that it is so good he wouldn't need a special a version, and gives nicer looking reds than the a but doesn't not-take-it like normal DSLR sensor.